Disengaged students find meaning through murals

Tucked within the hallways of a high school in Canberra a group of students are busy, but not with traditional school work.

Instead, the year 10 students are engrossed in preparing, sanding and painting their school hallway.

The Melba Copland Secondary School students are part of a scheme known as 'Pride Painters', hatched by youth worker Jayson Perrin, who wanted to use his trade skills to inspire disengaged teens.

"What I wanted to do was amalgamate all my qualifications and teach painting and decorating to kids who were genuinely at risk," he said.

The students meet once a week, learning theory and painting everything from bathrooms, lockers and walls.

Mr Perrin says there has been a big drop in vandalism at the school since the program started.

"After one of our students has painted a wall, quite often it doesn't get tagged, it doesn't get graffitied on," he said.

"It's looked after and it's looked after by the school and it creates a sense of belonging and a sense of pride."

The students have also transformed local scout halls and sporting clubs.

The program has proved popular and has attracted sponsors donating everything from the paint to personal protection equipment.

Principal Michael Battenally says he has noticed a shift in the students' attitudes towards their future ambitions.

"Now I can have a conversation with the kids about what do you want to do with the future, and it's not like 'oh I don't know', it's like 'oh I want to do this, I want to be a diesel mechanic, I want to be an architect, a painter and decorator'," he said.

The students are now preparing to transform a local hairdressing salon.